The Appellate Division recently addressed an unusual issue in the case of Trotta v. Ollivier, namely, whether the estate of a joint tenant may sue the surviving joint tenant to recover payments the decedent had made for purchase and upkeep of the property. Eric Penzer discusses the decision in our latest entry.
Continue Reading Appellate Division Decides Case Of First Impression Regarding Joint Tenancy Issue
If the intended recipient of a charitable bequest can no longer be identified, an executor or trustee will often commence a cy pres proceeding in the Surrogate’s Court to determine the appropriate recipient of the funds. In our latest entry, Eric Penzer discusses a decision in the context of a cy pres application, focusing on the standing of a possible alternative recipient of the subject bequest to participate in the proceeding.
Continue Reading Court Decides Issue Of Standing To Participate In Cy Pres Proceeding
In a prior post, Robert Harper explained the law on the disposition of human remains in New York. This week he follows up on that topic, discussing a recent Nassau County Supreme Court decision, Matter of Grace D. There, the court addressed a disagreement among the decedent’s family members as to the disposition of her remains.
Continue Reading More Tales from the Crypt: The Right of Sepulcher, Decedent’s Intent and Disposition of Human Remains
In Matter of Gilmore, the Second Department addressed the unusual situation of the inheritance rights of children who had been born prior to the execution of their father’s Will, but whose existence was unknown to their father until after his Will had been executed. Jack Barnosky discusses the case in our most recent entry.
Continue Reading “After Acknowledged Children” Denied Inheritance Rights
The First Department has issued a noteworthy decision in determining that an in terrorem clause would be triggered by a revocation proceeding. Jaclene D’Agostino discusses the case in this week’s entry.
Continue Reading In Terrorem Clause Construed to Apply to Revocation Proceeding
Surrogate John B. Riordan of Nassau County recently addressed an application to unseal adoption records for purposes of determining the heirs at law of a decedent who died intestate. Jaclene D’Agostino discusses the decision in this week’s blog entry.
Continue Reading Adoption Records Unsealed to Determine Distributee Status
This week, Ilene S. Cooper explains a recent case in which the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court analyzed whether a beneficiary’s interest in the decedent’s residence qualified as a life estate, notwithstanding the explicit use of the term in the decedent’s Will.
Continue Reading Court Examines Beneficiary’s Right to Sell Real Property
This week’s post discusses amendments to EPTL 2-1.6, the statute pertaining to the disposition of assets in circumstances of apparent simultaneous deaths.
Continue Reading Amendments to Simultaneous Death Statute, EPTL 2-1.6
This week’s entry contemplates whether bequests conditioned on religious observance are enforceable in contemporary times.
Continue Reading A Matter of Faith: Conditioning Bequests on Religious Observance and Marriage
This week’s post informs readers of the recent New York County Surrogate’s Court decision regarding whether the trustees of Leona Helmsley’s charitable trust must actually use its funds for the care and welfare of dogs.
Continue Reading A Sop For Cerberus